Dmitry Medvedev said he was sickened by what the three Pussy Riot activists had done and by the
hysteria
surrounding it. But he suggested that the five months they spent in pre-trial detention had been punishable enough. Russia's Prime Minister said he believed that extending their confinement would be counter-productive, and they should be handed suspended sentences.
The Cuban government says it is prepared to negotiate with the United States to find a solution in the case of detained American contractor, Alan Gross. Mr. Gross is serving a 15-year prison sentence for taking internet equipment to Cuba. The Senior Cuban Diplomat Josefina Vidal said in a statement that Cuba was willing to talk to Washington and was awaiting an answer.
Police in Mexico say they have arrested the alleged leader and founder of a criminal group known as the Resistance. The man, Ramiro Pozos Gonzalez, was detained in Mexico state. He is accused of drug trafficking and murdering members of rival gangs. Police seized a gold-plated machine gun which Mr. Pozos had said to be a present from a fellow drug baron. Federal police said Mr. Pozos was defiant after his arrest.
Germany's deputy finance minister Steffen Kampeter has rebuffed suggestions that his country could still owe billions of euros to Greece in unpaid
reparations
from the Second World War. Speaking to the BBC, Mr. Kampeter said Germany closed the debate on the matter years ago. His comments follow an announcement that Greek finance ministry is examining the scale of unpaid compensation that it says the Germany still owes the Greek government.